Fiverr is here to change the way the world works by connecting people, creating opportunities and providing access to commerce, employment, communication, education, and resources. Yet Fiverr can only achieve this mission if these opportunities are open to everyone. And in a world where race, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and even geography still play a major role in determining who gets access to resources and opportunity and who doesn’t, it is our duty to break down barriers and rewrite the narrative. To make sure Fiverr’s activities and resources are inclusive and accessible to all, we have Beth Wiesendanger, who was recently promoted to Senior Programs Manager, Public Policy - Diversity & Inclusion. We wanted to have this chat with Beth to learn more about what Fiverr can do to promote accessibility and inclusion in the gig economy.
Hi Beth! First, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your new role at Fiverr?
I'm Beth, and I've been part of Fiverr's Grassroots Community team for the past 4 years. Recently, I’ve taken on a new role, as Fiverr’s Senior Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager.
When I was born, both of my legs were underdeveloped - to this day, we aren’t sure why. In any case, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to learn to walk on them, and so my parents were given a choice: either I’d adapt to life in a wheelchair, or the doctors could amputate both of my legs and I’d learn to be mobile in prosthetics. They chose the latter.
I’ve been a prosthetic user for my entire life. Many people ask me if it’s been difficult to learn how to do everyday things in prosthetics - but the truth is, I don’t know any other way. The hardest thing for me as a child of parents in the 90's was being told that my ‘disability doesn’t define me,’ but also experiencing first-hand that to other people, it absolutely did. I often say I don’t feel disabled until somebody else makes me feel that way - either by staring at how I walk, telling me I’m an ‘inspiration’ for just getting out of bed, or commenting to past boyfriends that they’re great people just for dating me. Yeah, pretty messed up, right? For this reason, in my childhood, I often tried to hide the fact that I had a disability. Admitting I was disabled was like saying I was weak or different - and I internalized that shame for a very long time.
And what was the turning point for you?
As I’ve grown into an adult, I’ve learned to find my voice and be proud of my disabled identity. Being disabled has shaped all of the things I love and admire most about myself. My ability to ask for help when needed, to assess my own limitations, to be direct and clearly communicate with others, to always plan things out twenty steps ahead, to speak openly about my experiences: being disabled has profoundly dictated who I am. Because I’m disabled, I’m a better advocate for accessibility and inclusivity related issues. I’m more empathetic and understanding. I speak up when I see opportunities to help underserved communities. I am personally invested in creating a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable future.
So now you're bringing this sense of commitment to your new role at Fiverr.
Fiverr’s purpose is my purpose as well: to create opportunities for anyone in the world to build their business, brand or dream. I’m excited to work for a company that is prioritizing these issues, and am continually impressed by Fiverr’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility for everyone, regardless of where they live or their background.
As Fiverr’s Senior Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager, my mission is to ensure marginalized communities are seen, heard, and advocated for. To leverage the resources I have access to and create access for those who don’t. To create opportunities, tear down the cultural and systemic barriers, and foster community, knowledge, and success through events, partnerships, and programs that give back to the people who need them most.
Speaking of opportunities and barriers, would you say the Gig economy is creating more opportunities for people with disabilities?
In America, the unemployment rate for disabled individuals is about 80%, which is unbelievably high. Recently I read the book 'Diversity in the Workplace' by author Bari A. Williams, which says that organizations that embrace best practices for employing and supporting individuals with diverse abilities in their workforce have achieved 28% higher revenue, doubled their net income, and earned 30% higher profit margins than their peers. But people of diverse abilities remain a largely untapped and unseen talent pool of around 10.7 million people. Why?
Studies have shown that traditional employers have a number of (untrue) assumptions about hiring people with disabilities. They worry about the costs of providing reasonable accommodation, they don’t know how to handle a disabled person’s needs on the job, they’re afraid the prospective disabled employee won’t be able to do the work, etc. Of course, all of these fears are unfounded - but there is most certainly a bias against the disabled community in the workforce.
The Gig economy creates opportunities for disabled people due to its accessibility. As long as you have access to the internet and a computer, you can work remotely from home, set your own hours, and avoid many of the biases that can typically prevent disabled workers from getting jobs.
Take Fahim, a level two seller in Bangladesh. In 2012, at the age of 14, he lost the ability to walk due to muscular dystrophy and is a wheelchair user. He had to stop going to university, and instead learned through self-study. In 2017 he joined Fiverr as a seller, and received an order on his second day. Today, he’s completed around 600 projects on Fiverr. Fahim’s story would not be possible without access to a digital marketplace like Fiverr.
So would you say the Fiverr marketplace is inclusive? What can Fiverr do to make its product even more inclusive and widely accessible?
Let’s first discuss some terms. The terms ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion' are often used together, but they mean different things: Diversity refers to a group of people that’s reflective of the society in which it exists and operates. Diversity incorporates all of the elements that make individuals unique from one another, and while there are infinite differences in humans, most of us subconsciously define diversity by a few social categories, such as gender, race, age and so forth. Inclusion, however, refers to an environment in which all individuals are not only represented, but are also treated fairly and respectfully, and have equal access to opportunities and resources.
Fiverr’s community is certainly diverse. Our global community of freelancers span across more than 160 countries, and consequently represents hundreds of cultures, languages, races and all genders and orientations.
In terms of inclusivity, Fiverr continuously develops programs that serve to create equal access to opportunities for communities across the globe. Fiverr’s Digital Workforce Development Initiative worked with local governments in American cities with high unemployment rates to retrain workers from traditionally offline jobs to shifting to the online Gig economy. On Fiverr, female freelancers make slightly more than their male counterparts, effectively closing the wage gap that plagues most traditional workplaces. Fiverr has also supported the work of many organizations that work to create opportunities for underrepresented communities: be it Black, Indiginous or People of Color (BIPOC) business owners, women in technology, accessibility in tech, and more.
The biggest challenge Fiverr is facing in terms of accessibility today is the fact that access to broadband internet is unequal from community to community. Recently the Community team was in Kibera, Kenya - Africa’s largest slum - to train students on how to identify their marketable skills, freelance online, and join the Fiverr marketplace. Most community members there not only lack access to the internet, but lack access to basic needs like clean water, sanitation, and electricity. If the future of work is remote and digital, it is our job to promote access to the Gig economy in communities like these.
So you’re saying accessibility is key in achieving Fiverr’s mission to change the way the world works together.
Accessibility breeds opportunity.
It’s true that Fiverr exists to create opportunities for anyone in the world to build their business, brand, or dreams - and our global community of freelancers, independent workers, creatives and decision-makers naturally brings together the best and brightest from all walks of life. But If we truly mean anyone, we must also recognize the systemic and cultural barriers presented by age, gender, ethnicity, orientation, religion or ability and be advocates for the impacted.
If we really want to change the way the world works together, we have to push for equal access to opportunity - be it starting your business, choosing the way you work, etc.
And it is said that the way to get there, and make sure your product is thoroughly inclusive, is by hiring diverse talent to your team. How does diversity in the organization end up affecting the accessibility and inclusivity of the product?
Fiverr believes on a fundamental level that businesses and organizations of all kinds function better when voices from diverse backgrounds and perspectives are included in critical conversations. Our experience as a company is rooted in this idea. With offices across the globe, filled with people from different cultures and traditions, we've learned firsthand that diversity can inspire creativity and foster innovation.
Now, we know intuitively that diversity matters. But it’s also increasingly clear that it makes sense in purely business terms. According to McKinsey, companies ranking in the top quartile of executive-board diversity were 35% likelier to financially outperform the industry medians. Other research finds that inclusive teams make better business decisions 87% of the time. This means that having diverse teams has a positive trickle-down effect: more diversity = better products and business solutions.
Recently I had a conversation with Will Butler, the VP of Community at Be My Eyes - an organization that works to make platforms and products more accessible for the visually impaired. In that conversation Will said something that stuck with me: when you make products more accessible for one audience, you really make the product more accessible for everyone. Take, for example, an app that’s designed to be easy-to-use for people with limited limb movement. In your mind, you may picture this to be designed for someone with a prosthetic arm - but what about the mother who is holding her child in her arms while trying to use the same app?
More accessible solutions, quite simply, lead to better design and user experience for all.
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